The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 691 Five Whips

Li Zicheng knew that he was no match for the Japanese pirates in Niuguan, so he cursed a few words and continued to head east.

"How did the Japanese know of our whereabouts? Is there a spy?"

Li Zicheng was confused and had to avoid the towns along the way and continue on his journey.

The days are short in winter, and it was noon before I knew it. I was hungry and thirsty, and drenched in sweat, but I didn't dare to stop. It was awful.

Passing by a pine forest, I rested under a pine tree.

Suddenly, someone called out from behind, "Brother Li, why aren't you drinking anymore?"

When he turned around, it was Jiang Liuer. Li Zicheng said angrily:
"Last night, I left a hungry man behind and you escaped on your own. I almost got captured by the Japanese pirates!"

He turned over and beat Jiang Liuer.

Jiang Liu'er gently dodged and said with a smile: "The Japanese pirates surrounded the inn last night. Brother Wu led his men to lead them to the north of the city, so you were able to escape. You are really like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, not knowing how to appreciate a good person's kindness."

The soldiers following behind also nodded.

Wu Xiao looked Li Zicheng up and down, and seeing that he was not injured, he said calmly:

"They have all escaped. The Japanese pirates have a large army stationed at Niuguan and they already know we are coming. Let's leave quickly."

Li Zicheng didn't know what to say for a moment. He saw Jiang Liuer take out a few pancakes from his arms and eat them.

Smelling the delicious aroma of cakes, Li Zicheng shouted, "I have been running since the fifth watch and haven't eaten anything yet. Give me a cake."

Jiang Liuer said, "It's still several days' journey to Edo, and the road is dangerous. Are you still drinking?"

Li Zicheng quickly said, "I don't want to drink anymore."

Let’s not talk about it anymore.

The group continued on their journey, and three days later, they arrived outside Edo Castle.

Wu Xiao asked Li Zicheng and Jiang Liuer to scout around first. Jiang Liuer pretended to be a warrior and Li Zicheng pretended to be a servant.

The two men searched around Edo for two days but didn't find a monk. They then searched the small streets and alleys in the city for a day but still found no news.

Li Zicheng was anxious and cursed, "Where are these bald donkeys hiding? If I find them, I'll chop off their heads and use them as chamber pots."

Jiang Liuer said, "They are not ordinary monks. If we really encounter them, we will probably be captured and taken to the mountains to take their yang to replenish their yin."

"What? Taking Yang to replenish Yin?"

Li Zicheng laughed and said, "Could it be that the old monk is attracted to both men and women?"

The two chatted for a while, then walked out of Edo Castle, reunited with Wu Xiao, and told everyone what they had seen and heard in the past few days.

After hearing this, Wu Xiao asked the two to rest outside the city first, and then get up early the next day to go to nearby villages, towns and cities to search.

The next day, Jiang Liu'er and Li Zicheng went west together. Whenever they saw an old man along the way, they would bow to him and ask where the volcano monk lived.

Unfortunately, no one recognized it.

After asking for half a day, I got nothing.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon again. The two were hungry and saw a vegetarian noodle shop on the side of the road. There was another Ikkyu sign hanging on it.

The store was full, with not a single empty seat.

A short man came forward and spoke. Li Zicheng listened twice but still didn't understand what he was saying.

Jiang Liuer was fluent in Japanese. He pointed at an old man sitting alone and said, "Hey, mate, you want us to sit with that old man."

The old man was in good spirits, occupying a big seat alone. Jiang Liuer stepped forward and saluted him. The old man glanced at the two of them and said nothing.

The two sat opposite each other.

Li Zicheng whispered, "Where's your tigress? I'm afraid the Japanese have captured her and cooked her for food."

Jiang Liuer glared at him.

Ordered four rice balls, two sashimi, two sushi, four tempura, fried lamb, takoyaki, grilled mushrooms, miso soup...
After the waiter finished his announcement, he turned and left without confirming the menu.

Jiang Liuer frowned.

Li Zicheng said there was not enough food.

Jiang Liuer said, "I'll eat two rice balls and a bowl of soup, and give you the rest. Isn't that enough?"

Li Zicheng said: "Ten rice balls are enough. I can finish them all!"

~~~

After waiting for half a day, no food was served. Wine and food were brought to the tables next to him from time to time. Li Zicheng saw it and felt anxious.

Then the waiter brought a serving of takoyaki and placed it in front of the old man opposite. The old man did not hesitate and took the takoyaki and started eating.

Li Zicheng was impatient and cried out in surprise:

"Baga! I've been waiting for half a day! Why haven't you served the food yet? Do you think I don't have enough money?"

The guy was nowhere to be seen.

He slapped the table, and before his palm even touched the surface, the old man knocked over the dishes. The bowl of takoyaki in front of him flew up and fell under the table, and the porcelain bowl broke into two pieces with a snap.

Hearing the noise, the Japanese who were originally busy eating stood up almost at the same time, and several of them had shiny knives on their waists.

The old man jumped up like a bowstring, holding the broken bowl as if he were holding his dead wife, and cried loudly:
"Baga, my bowl was a gift from the Daimyo of Choshu Domain, it was worth five hundred gold! And now it's gone! My bowl!"

Jiang Liuer traveled around the world and knew at a glance that he had run into a shady shop, so he quickly pulled Li Zicheng away.

"Where to escape!"

Before Li Zicheng could react, the old octopus man rolled up his sleeves and rushed forward, revealing the blue dragon tattoo on his wrist.

It looks like he's from a seventeenth-century gang.

Without further ado, the old man grabbed Li Zicheng and shouted in a thick Guanxi accent:
"Haga! ばか, なぜprivateのたこ焼きをひっくり回したのですか! (You bastard, why did you overturn my octopus balls! Pay for it!)"

Li Zicheng pushed the old man away and said angrily:

"You're a scammer, you idiot! When have I ever been near you? Get out!"

After saying that, he swung his fist like a sandbag and wanted to hit the old man.

Jiang Liuer hurriedly stopped him.

The old man didn't waste any words. He suddenly pulled out his dagger and stabbed Li Zicheng directly.

Li Zicheng kicked the dagger out.

The diners came forward and surrounded the two men.

Poems as proof:

Zicheng, known for his aggressive nature, angered an elderly man. An octopus splashed across his face, and in a rage, he called out "Crusoe."

Jiang Liuer quickly spoke to the old man in Japanese: "Old man, my servant is a rough man from the countryside. Don't bother with him. I will compensate you with the bowl and a portion of takoyaki."

A ronin came up and shouted:
"You knocked over two and only compensated for one. Isn't that bullying an old man?"

"Yeah, I spilled two takoyakis, but only paid for one."

Li Zicheng angrily shouted, "Bullshit! I think he only has one bowl!"

A group of wanderers gathered around and looked at the old man: "How many bowls did you eat?

The old man blurted out: "Two bowls."

A stout, fat ronin with a blue dragon and a white tiger tattooed on his arm pushed the old man aside and pointed at Jiang Liuer Li Zicheng and cursed:

"Aren't you bullying the elderly? If you don't give me an explanation today, you two won't be allowed to leave. I'll send you to the city and make you Tartar spies and behead you!"

Li Zicheng was furious and drew his sword.

The fat ronin laughed and said:

"You're trying to scare us with a knife. In Edo, who doesn't have a knife?"

The old man grinned grimly: "Leave your money, or leave your hands!"

Li Zicheng was about to rush forward, but Jiang Liuer had already taken the lead, raised the dagger, and pointed it at the old man's abdomen.
"Whether it's one bowl or two, we'll know later."

After saying that, he kicked towards the old man, who quickly dodged to the side.

Jiang Liuer stepped forward

The first is the left jab

A right whip kick
At the same time, a left kick
Although the old man is a veteran member of the Edo Society and has extraordinary skills, he did not expect that the thick-browed and big-eyed Jiang Liuer would also launch a surprise attack.

So I was careless and didn't dodge

Jiang Liuer smiled

Snap a right whip kick
Snap a left kick
Snap a whip five times
In a flash, the battle was over.

Jiang Liuer captured the old man, raised the sharp knife, aimed it at his abdomen, and stabbed him.

puff.

The dagger in Li Zicheng's hand had been replaced with two short guns, one on each side, with his fingers on the trigger.

A reckless ronin shouted "Baga" and rushed forward. After taking two steps, there was a loud bang and the musket exploded. The ronin was like being hit by a hammer and flew five or six steps away, deader than dead.

Li Zicheng blew on the muzzle of his gun, turned around and said to his companions:
"Lao Li, where is the takoyaki? It's too shallow, I can't see it."

The old man's abdomen was cut open, and he screamed like a pig being slaughtered, with blood flowing into a pool.

Li Zicheng glanced at the old man, smiled slightly, and instructed Jiang Liuer to continue the operation:
"The octopus is in the intestines, so you have to pull it sideways to make it visible to them."

Jiang Liuer wiped his face with his hand, and looked at the wanderer with blood on his face:
"Come, let everyone see, is it one bowl or two bowls? Come on!"

Everyone in the room was frightened by his aura and didn't know what to do for a moment, but then they heard a tiger roar outside the door, like a bolt from the blue.

The wanderers looked at each other in confusion, and some of them had already started to wet their pants.

Boom!

Click!

The next second, the tigress Matsushita, who was more than a meter tall, rushed into the shop, waving her huge claws and knocking off half of the fat ronin's head. The remaining ronin screamed and fled in all directions. The few who walked slowly were eaten one by one by Matsushita.

The old man was shocked by the scene before him. He stared at his cut stomach and trembled.

The tiger's saliva slid down its cheeks onto the old man's face.

Only then did I realize that I had met a tough guy.

Jiang Liuer leaned down and said to him earnestly:
"Old man, just eat your meal. Why are you trying to scam me? Aren't you just asking for trouble? Do you know our names?"

Li Zicheng said: "We brothers are called the Black and White Devils. If you meet them, you will die."

"Hero, spare me! This is my first time making this. I was planning to eat takoyaki and then go back to Baxian Mountain to listen to a lecture on the secrets of immortality, but I was late and missed the trip, and was forced by these ronin..."

Jiang Liuer smiled and nodded: "Where are you from, old man? Who did you hear about the secret of immortality?"

The old man's voice was low and his breathing was weak.

"I was... listening to Chunshen's lecture on the secret of immortality."

Jiang Liu'er wondered, "Could it be that bald donkey is there too?"

He continued to ask, "Old man, are you talking about Master Huiran's disciple on the mountain?"

The old man nodded with difficulty.

Jiang Liuer laughed and said, "It's like searching for something unsuccessfully, but now it's found without any effort!"

Jiang Liuer bowed and asked, "How far is Baxian Mountain from here? Is the abbot still here?"

The old man's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible:
"Twenty-five miles, Chunshen can live forever."

"I'm dying."

If you ask again, the old club member will turn his head and go to see Amaterasu.

Jiang Liuer was overjoyed. Li Zicheng went to the kitchen to find a torch, spilled the drinks in the store, and set it on fire.

Looking at the blazing fire, Li Zicheng asked, "Should we go back and report first, or charge straight ahead?"

Jiang Liuer watched Songxia disappear into the dense forest and thought for a moment.

"Let's go explore Baxian Mountain first."

The two left the inn and headed towards Baxian Mountain. It only took an hour to reach their destination.

I saw the Eight Immortals Mountain early in the morning and it was truly beautiful.

Poems as proof:

The green mountains are sharp and emerald, and the blue peaks are covered with clouds.

There are tigers crouching and dragons coiling on both sides, and monkeys crying and cranes crying on all sides.

In the morning, you can see clouds covering the top of the mountain; in the evening, you can see the sun hanging over the treetops.

The gurgling water makes the sound of jade pendants in the stream; the flying springs and waterfalls make the faint sound of jade harps in the cave.

If it weren't for the Taoist couple practicing, there must be an immortal refining medicine.

They then arrived at the Eight Immortals Mountain and learned that Chunshen Tulu was about to preach the secret of immortality at a temple on the mountainside. So they disguised themselves as woodcutters, armed with sharp knives, and quietly advanced towards their target.

(End of this chapter)